#but Solas categorically does not like her even a little bit

[hoboblaidd]

all yall got me thinking about Solas' relationship with the advisors. In sum, I don't think he engages with them a whole lot beyond necessity.

I don't see why he'd ever need to interact with Cullen, unless it's to impart some knowledge he has of a strategic area the Inquisition is planning to move into. He has a low opinion of Templars and any fear-mongering about mages. Cullen may no longer (nominally) be a Templar, but his distrust of mages remains. In low approval dialogue, Solas says the mages in Kirkwall were provoked into blowing up the Chantry, and I don't think he'd much care for former-Templar Cullen's "it takes two to tango" view of the mage-templar war.

He interacts with Josie the most since he needs her to find him an eclectic collection of obscure books. We know she likes his stories, and we know he loves talking, so there's casual conversation in passing between them. She also has a throwaway line I love where she praises Solas' cool head when dealing with some Orlesian who threw a drink or something at him for being an apostate. But he's careful when talking to her, since he knows what he says is likely to make it back to Lelianna.

He gives Lelianna a wide berth, which is no mean feat since they share a rotunda. She's a woman who deals in information, which is dangerous given all he's withholding. He's very careful in what he says in any conversation with her or within earshot of her/her agents. That said, he makes a careful study of her methods the entire year of the Inquisition. Thanks to that, he stays one step ahead of them post-Inquisition, and I'm convinced that his "spies in the Inquisition" are folks who were there from the start - both servants and some elven agents of Lelianna's.

To throw Morrigan here for good measure, as we see very clearly in the game, he's incredibly antagonistic towards her. Everything she says about elves pisses him off. He's dismissive of her, sarcastic, and downright rude. It's another version of his antagonism towards Vivienne - it stems from a place of similarity. They're both arrogant, stubborn, and convinced they're right. The only difference between him and Morrigan re: elves is that he is right, which just makes him more arrogant and dismissive of her.

[emerald-amidst-gold]

🍓 For Fane?? :D

*waltz into the room* Why, hello, friend! You've come asking after the dragon, have you? He's here. He's always here, even when I'm not writing. X'D

So! Fane facts! >:D

Lately, I've been delving into 'hows' with Fane. Like, 'how does he handle specific situations', 'how does he cope', 'how does he function when he feels that he can't function'. I've also been playing with his relationships with other members because...I've ignored that large chunk of development in favor of fleshing out he and Solas' dynamic. (And that took me forever. Let me tell you.)

As such, a few 'oddities' with Fane. Namely, some mental afflictions.

--I may have mentioned this in writing and in little short stories, but Fane has a tendency to 'dig' into his arms when he crosses them. If he's getting annoyed, uncomfortable, or, and this is something he tries very hard to conceal, scared then he starts to squeeze at his arms; hug himself, basically.

--Fane has agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is simplistically categorized as being fearful or anxious of unfamiliar situations or places. Basically, you experience panic attacks, anxiety attacks, and feelings of paranoia when in areas that you feel unsafe (unknown venues, situations in which you're unsure of how to act, etc.) Most cases show many people choosing to 'hide away' or stay at home to avoid such distressing occurrences. Your mind already knows how you'll react and so you take steps to avoid it altogether. I'm hoping to show it in my writing, but you'll see that Fane has to be literally dragged to go to certain places and when does go to those places he...shuts down.

--Fane is also claustrophobic. This is from two things, but I'll only share one because the other is a major spoiler for his overall identity. The reason I'll share is because of his father's experiments. He was bound many times, in many places, but in an attempt to make it stop, Fane hid. In closets, in chests, in barrels, in hollowed out trees. As such, he associates tight spaces with those events and he's terrified of them. *laughs nervously* Descent material~

Onto some miscellaneous tidbits! :D

--Spirits tend to flock towards Fane if he's in the Fade. Primarily, ones of Love/Devotion or Tenacity.

--Fane used to detest any type of tea, but once Vivienne introduced him to chamomile tea (she was helping him find alternatives to sleep powders and magic to help him sleep), he can't go a night without at least a single cup.

--Fane is easily mistaken for a human if he wears a cowl and cloak. As long as his eyes and hair and ears aren't on display, he moves through without much trouble.

--Red Lyrium, as we know, sings and does all sorts of funky shit. However, Fane doesn't hear 'singing', he hears chanting--beats, thumps. There's voices, and those voices are what causes him to destroy a node without thinking. In a way, he can sense the Taint, like a Warden can in darkspawn and in other Wardens. It pushes him towards an edge he never wishes to fall from. So, like the dragons are said to do in Inquisition, he avoids red lyrium as much as he can.

--To follow from the above, Fane has extreme resistance to the Blight. So, later on down the line, when he's more or less taking on darkspawn without a shred of fear, letting the blood mix with his own wounds or finding it in his mouth, many of the Inner Circle is like, 'o.o'. While Solas is like, '-_-'.

--His favorite color is blue, but he never wears the shade. And despite how he associates depression, despair, and insanity with red and black, he wears those shades the most. (There's a reason~)

--Actually is fond of halla, despite the associations they have with Ghilan'nain and their connection to the Dalish.

--Fane, despite his difficulty at being vulnerable, has a fairly easy time saying, 'I love you'. Though, this is in regards to Solas. With Mhairi...it's a bit harder. For a lot of reasons.

--Is/was acquainted with Wisdom. All New, Faded For Her just got a whole lot crazier, and that's where both of Fane and Solas' darker sides get put on display. When I get to it, it'll give an idea of the types of extents Fane and Solas are both willing to go.

And I think that's it! I have more, but I would be writing an essay if I continued! X'D Suffice it to say, I've been working on Fane a lot because while I don't want people to solely see 'victim', I also don't want them to see solely the harshness. Mental struggles are just that; struggles. We do things we know we really shouldn't do because we see no other alternatives to cope, or we weren't given the tools to properly cope. Fane makes things difficult at times, and he knows that, but the mind is cruel and it does what it wants while saying, 'Your fault.'. I guess what I'm getting at is that...I want to make Fane 'realistic' in how he acts in response to his trauma and the reality is, it doesn't get fixed overnight.

Okay! I'll stop yapping! I get on my mental health rants and I can't stop! But, thank you so much for dropping by and allowing me to ramble! <3